Katie Noonan

Career

After graduation, Noonan began fronting the pop-rock group George, which she founded with her brother Tyrone Noonan in 1996 to enter a university music competition. After a series of independently released EPs, they signed to Festival Mushroom Records and released the debut album Polyserena in 2002, which debuted at number 1 on the ARIA albums chart. George won the Breakthrough Artist ARIA award in 2002 and performed the song "Breathe in Now" at the ceremony.

Noonan also founded the jazz trio Elixir in 1997; their debut self-titled album came out in 2003, and their second album, First Seed Ripening, released on 5 August 2011, won the 2011 ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album. In 2004 she released an album of jazz and operatic duets with her mother, Two of a Kind, on ABC Classics. That year she guest appeared at the Lord Of The Rings Symphony performances; reviewer Murray Black noted her voice's classical soprano quality in some solos and her pop diva credentials in others.

Noonan teamed with Paul Grabowsky for the jazz cycle Before Time Could Change Us, using words by Dorothy Porter, which won the 2005 ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album. Later in 2005, Deborah Conway invited Noonan to take part in the Broad Festival project alongside Sara Storer, Ruby Hunter and Clare Bowditch. Noonan recorded a solo album, Skin, at Sydney's Linear Recording in 2006; produced by Andrew Klippel, it was released on 11 August 2007, debuting at number 6 on the ARIA Top 50 album chart and number 1 on the Australian ARIA Top 20 album chart.

The single "Time To Begin" debuted at number 30 on the ARIA Top 50. Following the success of the remix of "Time To Begin", Noonan collaborated with John Course and Mr Timothy, re-recording her vocal tracks for a dance version of her solo album released under the title Second Skin. On 22 February 2008, Noonan was a support act for Cyndi Lauper at King's Park Botanic Gardens, Perth, and was invited on stage by Lauper to sing along to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun".

In 2008, Noonan released a jazz album of Lennon and McCartney cover versions entitled Blackbird: The Music of Lennon and McCartney. The Katie Noonan and the Captains' album Emperor's Box was created over a three-year period and is Noonan's second release for Sony Music; she wrote all of the songs and collaborated with Tim Finn, Sia, Don Walker, Josh Pyke and Tom Shapcott. In 2011, Noonan collaborated with Karin Schaupp and toured Songs from the British Isles.

In 2012, the two recorded Songs of the Southern Skies, which was nominated for two ARIA Awards. In 2013, Noonan released Songbook, an album that saw her re-recording songs from her time in George and Elixir. She also worked with the Sydney Dance Company on the production Les Illuminations. In 2014, she released Fierce Hearts which was nominated for an ARIA Award; it was music alongside a contemporary circus show by Circa.

In 2015, Noonan released Transmutant through Universal Music Australia, peaking at number 33 on the ARIA Charts. In 2016, Noonan collaborated with the Brodsky Quartet and released With Love and Fury in April. In December 2016, Noonan announced the release Songs of the Latin Skies with Karin Schaupp, released in February 2017. In 2018, Noonan reunited with Elixir and released Gratitude and Grief in August 2018, nominated for Best Jazz album at the 2018 ARIA Awards.

In April 2019, Noonan released The Little Green Road to Fairyland with Camerata and the Queensland Chamber Orchestra. In August, Noonan collaborated with the Australian String Quartet for The Glad Tomorrow, performing uniquely Australian poetry of Oodgeroo Noonuccal to music. In January 2020, Noonan confirmed the release of a mini-album titled Late Night Tunes with Noons, featuring covers of Australian songs with one original track. In May 2020, Noonan released her twentieth album, The Sweetest Taboo, a jazz album covering 1980s pop songs.

In May 2021, Noonan launched the Australian Vocal Ensemble (AVÉ), an a cappella quartet with tenor Andrew Goodwin, mezzo-soprano Fiona Campbell and bass-baritone Andrew O'Connor. In January 2023, Noonan commenced a national tour of 40 concerts, performing the entirety of Joni Mitchell's album Blue, marking the 50th anniversary since its release; the first concert took place at the 2023 Sydney Festival with the final concert in Bendigo, Victoria, on 16 September 2023.

In 2025, Noonan toured Jeff Buckley's Grace album. In March 2026, Noonan released "This Isn't What I Signed Up For", the lead single from her Alone But All One album scheduled for release on 26 June 2026.

Other activities

In July 2013, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd launched a National Office for Live Music, and by August of that year, Noonan had become the state ambassador for Queensland. The following year, she performed in Britten's Les Illuminations with the Sydney Dance Company and musicians from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under conductor Richard Gill at Sydney's City Recital Hall Angel Place; this production moved to Brisbane's QPAC in 2014 with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under Johannes Fritzsch.

Also in 2014, she joined the I Touch Myself Project, which promoted regular self-examination for early cancer detection in young women, and their cover of "I Touch Myself" reached number 72 on the ARIA singles chart. That same year, she served as the official ambassador for the Adelaide Fringe. In August 2020, Noonan was revealed as the "Sloth" on the second season of The Masked Singer Australia, finishing in ninth place.

Awards and nominations

Noonan's ARIA wins include Best Jazz Album in 2005 for Before Time Could Change Us (with Paul Grabowsky) and Best Jazz Album in 2011 for First Seed Ripening (with Elixir). She received further ARIA nominations: Best Jazz Album in 2018 for Gratitude and Grief (with Elixir) and in 2020 for The Sweetest Taboo.